PRODUCT REVIEW: KNOTTERY NEW YORK 3″ POINTED SILK KNIT TIES  (9.2)

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F YOU REMEMBER EARLY LAST YEAR, WE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO INTERVIEW JAY AREM, OF KNOTTERY NEW YORK, ON THE GENUINE MEN’S PODCAST. HIS COMPANY MAKES SOME OF THE BEST TIES IN NEW YORK FOR A FRACTION OF THE PRICE OF SOME OF THE BIGGER NAME BRANDS IN MENSWEAR. HE’S BRINGING YOU TIES MADE WITH LUXURIOUS FABRIC FROM ITALIAN MILLS, FOR NO LITTLE TO NO MARKUP. IT’S A REMARKABLE DEAL. WE SAW THE VALUE OF THEIR PRODUCTS EARLY AND INVESTED. WE PURCHASE THEIR BEAUTIFULLY MADE POINTED SILK KNIT TIES BECAUSE NO ONE WAS OFFERING 3” WIDE SILK KNIT TIES IN THE MARKET. THIS REVIEW IS BASED ON TIES WE PURCHASED IN 2016. UNFORTUNATELY, AT THE TIME OF THIS REVIEW, THEY HAD ALREADY SOLD OUT OF THEIR 3” WIDE SILK KNITS. YOU MIGHT HAVE LUCK EMAILING JAY AND SEEING IF THEY’RE GOING TO BE PRODUCING THESE SPECIFIC SILK KNIT TIES AGAIN THAT WE’VE REVIEWED. IN ALL CASES, YOU SHOULD FEEL AT EASE WHEN PURCHASING ANYTHING AT KNOTTERY NEW YORK.


KNOTTERY NEW YORK 3" POINTED SILK KNIT TIES

Quality9.0
Design8.7
Fit9.0
Price10.0
9.2

QUALITY

From the very moment we opened the Knottery New York box, we were pleasantly surprised with what was inside. Early in 2016, there were very few options in the tie market that met our criteria of width, value and quality. Sure, you could have gone to The Tie Bar and gotten the typical, trendy, 2” wide $15.00 knit tie or even went and spent big money at a higher end store like Brooks Brothers or Drakes. We love the casual, but still buttoned up nature of the silk knit tie. Investing in a well-made navy knit tie that you can wear it with anything. Our first impression of Knottery New York silk knit ties was that they were exactly what we expected. The problem we find with typical 2” knit ties, is that gentlemen with wider upper bodies (guys who work out regularly) tend to look disproportionate to their looks. A 2” tie with a suit looks rather miniscule and unflattering. As a simple rule, we try and keep our tie width and lapel width similar. It’s a perfect width to wear with a suit, but also pairs well with your favorite denim and sport coat. Now, for the possibly disappointing detail, these ties were in fact made in China. Might be upsetting to some purist, but we were told by Jay that these were made in a small family-run factory that produces ties for brands like Givenchy and Zenga, so don’t be discouraged about where these ties are made. We can assure you they’re not poor quality. Specifically, you’ll notice the silk used is smooth and wonderfully easy to knot. With all silk knit ties, you have 2 types of silk, smooth and crunchy. Though more common and easily made, the smooth silk of these Knottery knit ties aims to compete with the ties that are near triple the price. When you offer ties at little to no-markup, you’ve got to realistically find a place to save. Producing in China, while cheaper, does give Jay the ability to offer these ties at such an awesome price. Not all China made products are made poorly and unethically. 

DESIGN

The design of men’s knit ties hasn’t changed much over time. As mentioned above, you have 2 types: your typical smooth silks knit ties, which are sewn tube-like and then finished off at either end and your crunchy knit ties which take a little more handwork and are generally a bit more costly. Knottery New York ties are made with smooth silk and are indeed unique and offer something that a lot of silk knit ties don’t offer… they have a pointed end. It’s not necessarily a detail that most knit ties tend to have. The standard knit tie in the marketplace usually has squared off edges, but we’ve yet to find another company who produces pointed silk knit ties like theirs. Knottery offers 5 colors, green, burgundy, black brown and navy, which is a very classic color palette that should work with everything in a gentleman’s wardrobe. Inspecting the ties, you’ll find that instead of putting their logo label below the keeper loop (see below for more information on that), Knottery has chosen to instead keep the branding hidden. They’ve embroidered their logo into back neck portion of the tie. Subtle, but personally, we think it shows a clear design purpose and elevates the product a bit. Another great feature with these ties is their sheer weight. Because of that extra inch in width, you’re getting more silk, that when tied, drapes wonderfully. Also, because of this weight, you’re able to get a great tie dimple. Yes we said tie dimple…with a silk knit! There aren’t many knit ties on the market that can hold a tie dimple because of their typical 2” width. It’s a small detail that doesn’t get noticed by many, but Knottery has definitely thought about it. Despite our praises, the ties do have flaws. In terms of design, we were a bit let down by the quality of their keeper loops. Though we tend to never put our ties in them, the loop on these ties is a bit lacking. Our impression is it’s simply too small and fragile to have lasting functionality. These ties may have benefited from a thicker ribbon used as this keeper loop. We certainly understand that sacrifices need to be made in order to keep the cost where they are, and it doesn’t diminish the ties that much. In any case, every manufacturer can make improvements and eventually, most of them do. UPDATE: Knottery 2.5” crunchy knit ties do indeed have a keep loop/brand logo. It might just be on the 2.5” ones, or it might just have been the older batch of ties we purchased in 2016. Either way we preferred the embroidered logo version.

FIT

These ties are typically one size fits all, 59” long x 3.15” wide. We haven’t had any trouble tying these with a simple four-in-hand or an even a double four-in-hand knot. Like all knit ties, they do some have some stretchiness because of the sheer thickness, as well as not having a interlining like your typical tie. We store these ties by folding them and laying them flat in our drawer. We do know some gentleman like to roll their silk knit ties but you can store them as you may. We just advise to store them with care, because once you get pulls in the silk, they’re basically stuck that way. Another quick mention would be to make sure you always unknot these ties when not in use. With the knit being rather thin, you don’t want the silk to acquire deep wrinkles that can’t be removed. Once we take off the tie, we undo the knot, place them flat in our drawer and let the silk relax for a few days.

PRICE

Obviously price is always a big point of emphasis for any stylish and savvy Genuine Men’s Magazine reader. We know you want to invest in quality goods at great prices. We’ll be honest. THESE ARE HIGHLY UNDERPRICED. The Knottery hit a homerun with these ties, and it shows as they are now almost completely sold out. Sorry! $35 dollars is unheard of for a tie of this caliber. Larger menswear companies would charge $100+. It’s clear why they sold out and it’s a shame if they don’t make more. This is truly a unique spin on the traditional silk knit tie that begs to be pushed more. We hope that they will continue to offer more 3” wide options with some of their other silk knit ties for guys who like their ties a little wider.
NOTE: The Knottery now has 2.5” crunchy knit ties, in a variety of mixed colors that retail for $65.00.

OVERALL

Overall, we couldn’t be happier with our purchases. We purchased every color silk knit tie available mainly because we knew they were so unique and really filled a void in our wardrobe. Talking more to Jay and seeing the product in person, we knew that these would be ties that we could grow old with and remain in our rotation for years to come. A few missed opportunities aside, you can’t miss on these. You’re getting value and longevity with a style of tie that should be in every gentleman’s wardrobe, regardless of the color. Our favorite one has to be the burgundy color because it goes well with almost every color suit, pant, and dress shirt you’ll own. Feel free to email us if you have questions about how to wear these or incorporate them into your wardrobe. Make sure to stop by Knottery New York HERE, if you haven’t yet and see what they have to offer.


TLDR:

THESE WERE VERY POPULAR AND SEEM TO BE ALMOST COMPLETELY SOLD OUT. SORRY! EMAIL JAY TO SEE IF THEY WILL BE REMAKING THEM. IF NOT, THEY HAVE OTHER GREAT KNIT TIE OPTIONS.

This was a 100% honest review. Genuine Men’s Magazine was not gifted or given any monetary compensation for this review. We purchased this product with our own money and hope that you’ll make your own decision based on what we’ve written. Thanks for your viewership!

About The Author: StevenDElliott

Steven is the founder of Genuine Men’s Magazine. He graduated Drexel University with a Bachelor's degree in Graphic Design. Along with his passion for photography and design, Steven loves helping men find new and emerging menswear brands and offer his opinions when it comes to real-life situations.